TR Team to Imperial Meet at Bisley, UK.
The 2024 TR team to Bisley consisted of 12 shooters and it was most please o see a new cap in Shane Bland, and a returned cap of Kim O’Loghlen (47 years since he last shot at Bisley).
The team was smaller than usual, due to the 2024 TR World Championships only being held a few months earlier in March 2024 in South Africa, however some great successes where achieved. With only a smaller team, it was pleasing to see the half the team also involved in the duties of shooting and coaching within the matches, with the team also being well supported by other Australians at Bisley with check scoring and team scoreboard scribing.
The Team entered a number of matches with some strong results which allowed it to be the overall winner of the Dominion Prize. The Dominion Prize is awarded to the team that scores the highest combined aggregate of the three previous matches; Australia won this trophy.
The Overseas Match
The team finished second in “The Overseas” teams match, trailing Guernsey by 4 points, while being 10 points in front of Canada and Jersey. It was good to see the team fight back after a shaky start at 300 yards.
Only one possible of 105 was shot, which was by Steve Negus.
The Kolapore Match
Australian was second behind Great Britain, by 9 points. The conditions were not easy, with only one possible of 150 scored across all countries. Australia was a little slow out of the block at 300 yards, however posted a competitive score at 500. Australia managed to have a higher score on the 600 yard mount by getting through the shoot quickly, while other teams waited out conditions and due to lack of time needing to shoot through unfavourable conditions.
The Mackinnon Match
The Mackinnon match presented interesting conditions at 900 and 1000 yards. Australia finished sixth, out of eight teams.
Warm-Up Matches
The Australian team also participated in two warm up matches. The British Commonwealth Rifle Club (BCRC) hosted Canada and Australia in an early evening match with 10 shots over 300, 500 and 600 yards for an 8 person team. This was won by the BCRC teams which consists of members who have all represented Great Britain. This match afforded the opportunity to verify zeros across the team and allow team members to get elevations and ring sizes on Century range. Australia finished 4th (of 7) in this match.
The other match we chose to shoot in was the Opening Shot. This is an open team’s match for 4-persons, but only two shooters can be graded X-class under the GB rules. As a number of our team members had a grading from previous years, we entered two complying teams firing 15 shots at 900 and 1000 yards. The ‘Dingoes’ came third, missing out on top spot by one point, finishing 8 points down. The ‘Dingoes’ went clean at 900y but found 1000y a little more difficult. Our other team, the ‘Bilbies’ had the highest scoring 1000y target, with only 3 points dropped. This gave us a lot of confidence as we all headed into the individual matches.
Individual Performances
There were some great individual performances by Team members. These included:
James Corbett’s winning of the St. George’s Stage III, being only one of 4 shooters who has a possible of 150. Shaun Wingrove and Shane Bland received top 25 special St. George’s badges, while Steve Negus and Kim O’Loghlen also received St. George top 100 badges.
James Corbett winning a Grand Aggregate cross (5th), while Shane Bland and Kim O’Loghlen were unlucky to just miss the top 50.
Kings top 100 badges went to Steve Negus (6th), James Corbett (20th), Shane Bland (71st) and Kim O’Loghlen (82nd).
Steve Negus won the ‘Freddy Payne Memorial’ trophy, while Shane Bland won the ‘Pavey’ the ‘Sudan’ and the ‘Monro Memorial’ trophies.
All competition results can be found at: https://nra.org.uk/results/imperial-results-classifications/imperial-meeting-results/imperial-meeting-results-2024/
Social Occasions
There were a number of social events that Team members were able to attend:
- Australia was invited to the NRA Chair & BCRC Overseas and the Canadian receptions.
- Australia received an invitation to the Cambridge and Oxford Universities Chancellors Cocktail night.
- The Canadian team hosted Australia twice for dinner – where we had great evenings, it was a pleasure to be invited into the Canadian Pavilion. A special mention goes to Di and Barry Wood, who have since 2015 (or so) have held a team meet and greet just before the TR competitions starts. This is a fantastic opportunity for all the Australian Team members, their partners, and any other Australians at Bisley to get together in an informal setting.
Travelling to Bisley and competing at the Imperial Meet is a fantastic and enjoyable experience, with an ability to compete against 650+ other competitors. If a trip to Bisley is on your bucket list, but you aren’t sure on anything, reach out to any previous team members who would be happy to advise.
Shaun Wingrove
Team Captain
